good morning!

i've decided to switch things up. instead of my usually morning coffee, i've started drinking hot water & lemon (with a pinch of ground cinnamon).

my coffee habits have changed dramatically over the years. at first, i took my hot milk and sugar with a splash of coffee. perhaps that was because i was only thirteen. then i started drinking my (at home) coffee black. i started drinking my coffee sweet again in college. thanks to the on-campus starbucks. but i should point out that, to this day, i prefer dunkin' donuts coffee (black; hot or cold) and starbucks speciality drinks (i can only drink starbucks coffee black if its iced).

i digress.

the point is, i want to drink less coffee. and thus, i've switched to morning hot water & lemon. so far, so good. although i've noticed it makes me hungrier than coffee (which has a tendency to curb appetite).


learn more about the benefits of drinking hot water and lemon here.

stuffed portabello mushroom

summertime is all about grillin' and while i would normally look forward to some chicken, burgers or even an ear of corn; i've had to be more creative with my grilled dinners. one night last week we bought some portabello mushroom caps. knowing i'd want something more than that, i had the idea to make a diet friendly, filling dinner by adding some other veggies.

ingredients 

• portabello mushroom caps (package of 2)
• 10-12 ounces of spinach 
• 1 medium sized onion 
• 1 medium sized tomato 

directions 

• heat grill (we have a gas grill); place aluminum foil-wrapped onion on grill 
• while onion is on the grill, prepare mushroom caps, tomatoes and spinach: chop tomato into small pieces and set aside; clean and rinse spinach; wash and clean mushroom caps gently with a paper towel
• then spray pan with PAM and start cooking spinach on low adding salt and pepper to taste; keep warm until mushroom and onion are done on the grill 
• while the spinach is cooking: add mushroom caps directly onto grill; continue grilling mushroom caps and onion for 20minutes or until the mushroom caps stop welling up with water and get some nice char marks. 
• take the onion and mushroom off the grill, carefully remove the onion from the foil. place foil over mushrooms to keep warm. place onion back onto the grill to get some caramelization for a few minutes.
• remove onion from grill; chop onion into small pieces (CAUTION: onion will be very hot!) 
• stuff cooked spinach, grilled onion and raw tomato into mushroom cap 
• serve immediately and ENJOY! 

note: this yields two servings. make it as a meal or serve as a side dish! 

this was by far one of my favorite dinners since starting my diet. i've fallen into the habit of eating guacamole and plantain chips almost every fruit/veggie day so i was happy to mix it up. this is really the perfect summer dish! it's filling and earthy. it was also super easy to make and a great vegetarian friendly way to use the grill! 

how do you look: standards on body image

i saw this vintage advertisement (below) and thought to myself: wow. i can't believe how much the standards on body image have changed in a matter of decades. standards on body image are culturally determined and always changing. 

despite my dieting, i'd still argue for the girl on the left. it's not about being "skinny" or "fat" –  ultimately, it's about being healthy. which is complicated when you think about it because every BODY is different. being healthy to me is a balance between physical and emotion health. that being said, i think confidence can be a true body image builder even if you have a few "extra pounds," you know? outward appearance is not always indicative of "health"

now that i'm approaching my new goal weight i want to focus on being happy and healthy. i want to maintain my weight without obsessing over calories and/or weighing myself. i want to eat nutrient rich foods and workout + treat myself every once in awhile.

soon after seeing this ad, i came across the trailer for miss representation, a documentary film about the media’s misrepresentations of women that have led to the underrepresentation of women in positions of power and influence. although i haven't seen the film yet, i did read through some of the information provided and (while i was at work) literally burst into tears while reading about how much young women are so affected by our culture's current body image standards. i read that the number one "magical" wish among girls is to be thinner. not to go to disney land or be president - the number one magical wish is to be thinner. how sad is that?

then again, as this advertisement points out, whether it's to be bigger or thinner there will always be "cultural standards" and at the end of the day the most important thing is to be happy and love yourself.

"nothing tastes as good as skinny feels"

... or so i've been told. normally, i'd respond to such an absurd statement with something like, "i can think of a hundred things that taste better," or "skinny doesn't taste like anything ... which is why i eat" or some other snide comment. and by saying that,  i'm not alluding  to an "addiction" or even an “unhealthy” relationship with food – i’m just saying i’ve finally reached a point where i can admit i’ve made excuses which has resulted in me being overall unhappy with my weight.

so, in an effort to become more happy and healthy, i started a completely ridiculous over-the-top diet – obviously. this diet consists of a strict regimen alternating between veggies/fruits and dairy. and by “dairy” i mean 20ounces of whole milk and/or whole milk yogurt: no cheese. no cottage cheese. no sour cream. no fruit-on-the-bottom delicious (packed with sugar) yogurty-goodness. i know what you’re thinking – i must be hungry. and, yes, in fact i am. i dreamt about a bowl of pasta last night. a steaming bowl of pasta tossed with butter, garlic and parmesan.

i digress. i’ve decided now – more than ever – to make my health and weight a priority for a number of reasons. most notably:

• i’m sick of making excuses and putting off losing weight. therefore, in addition to my recent career change, i’ve decided to make an overall lifestyle change … all have been affirmed by the universe via daily oms (http://dailyom.com/).

• because i literally waste hundreds – if not thousands – of dollars a year on going out to eat and that needs to stop.

• my sister’s wedding is rapidly approaching and even if the marriage doesn’t last – the pictures will.

anyways. the point of all this is because i will have to become more conscientious about what i am eating, i am going to be more conscientious about my food-blogging. i will use this as a platform to discuss new  healthy vegetarian recipes, track my progress and to complain about how hungry i am – but only sometimes.

current weight: 175 goal weight: 140 pounds-to-go: 35